YELLOW-HEADED PARROT: CHARACTERISTICS, HABITAT, REPRODUCTION, NUTRITION - BIOLOGY - 2025

The parrots yellow head (Amazona oratrix) are birds belonging to the family of the Psittaciformes Psittacidae order distributed in Mexico and Central America. As their name suggests, they have a very characteristic yellow coloration on their testa and face. They are also known as king parrots.

In this species of parrots there is no sexual dimorphism (males and females have the same characteristics). In juveniles, the yellow coloration is only present on the crown and lorum (area between the eyes and the nostrils).

Yellow-headed Parrot (Amazona oratrix) By David J. Stang

The attractive colors of these birds and the characteristics of their voice make them a highly demanded species as a pet. This causes it to be strongly hunted and hunted in its natural habitat. She is also a victim of sport hunting and in some localities of Belize she is persecuted and hunted for causing damage to crops.

In addition, it faces other threats such as loss of habitat. Agriculture and grazing activities have destroyed approximately 80% of the range habitat of these parrots.

These parrots are usually imported to the United States and other countries for use as pets. Many of these animals are carriers of diseases such as psittacosis (avian chlamydiosis) and Newcastle disease that affect local avian fauna.

Specimens of Amazona oratrix have been reported for Central America in Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, but are mainly distributed in Mexico.

General characteristics

The yellow-headed parrot can measure between 35 and 38 centimeters from head to tail, which is usually short. Their beak measures between 4.2 and 4.5 centimeters in length and is light cream in the adult and grayish in the juveniles. Adults can weigh between 340 and 535 grams.

Amazona oratrix is ​​characterized by having the head, neck and feathers of the legs of yellow color, in contrast to the rest of its plumage that is of a bright green hue. Around the eyes they have a white eye ring.

The wings have a red spot on the front edge and on the secondary feathers. The apical half of the primary wing feathers, as well as the tips of the secondary ones, are dark blue. On the tail, the tips of the feathers are yellow and the outer feathers have small red spots.

The subspecies A. o. belizensis the yellow color is restricted to the crown and lorum and the eye ring is grayish. In A. o. tresmariae the yellow color expands to the chest and has diffuse yellowish spots on the inside of the wings.

Habitat and distribution

Amazona oratrix is ​​distributed in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico where three subpopulations are found. One of them is found from Jalisco to Oaxaca, another is distributed in Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Veracruz, Chiapas, Tabasco and Campeche, and a last population that lives in the Marías Islands.

In Belize, it is restricted to the center and northwest of the country, found mainly in pine and oak forests. In addition, it is distributed from Punta Manabique in Guatemala to the extreme northwest of Honduras.

This species has been introduced in other localities due to illegal traffic and trade. Because of this, it can be found as an exotic species in the southern United States (California and Florida), the Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo), Puerto Rico and in some locations in Mexico such as the Capital District and Nuevo León.

Amazona oratrix usually inhabits riparian forests, low and high deciduous forests, humid riparian forests, scrublands and savannas. They are generally distributed between sea level and 900 meters of elevation, although in some cases they have been reported at more than 1200 meters above sea level.

In the localities for which it has been reported as an exotic species, it usually inhabits urban environments, adapting well to these.

Estimated current distribution

Some calculations made using potential distribution models (MaxEnt and GARP) predict a habitable area of ​​approximately 65737 ^km² for this species. This resulted from the combination of the ideal environmental data in which A. oratrix currently inhabits and historical records made for this species.

The widest estimated distribution is in the Gulf of Mexico with about 46,780 ^km². However, these assessments include areas where the species has been widely extirpated, its actual distribution being much lower than that calculated.

Other investigations carried out for the Mexican Pacific coast have estimated a confirmed potential distribution of 1,262 km ^², which represents a decrease in the distribution of 54% with respect to the historical distribution of this species for this region, which used to be about 2,769 km ^².

Amazona oratrix By Lana

Taxonomy

The species Amazona oratrix was described by Ridgway in 1887. For several decades it was considered to be part of a complex of species along with Amazona auropalliata and A. ochrocephala. However, various genetic studies have been carried out that have made it possible to divide the A. ochrocephala complex into three different lineages.

Thus, the species A. oratrix can be distinguished from other species of the ancient ochrocephala complex by the yellow coloration of the head that extends to around the eyes, usually forming a kind of hood. In addition, they have red spots on the shoulders with irregular yellow plumage and a light bill.

However, some populations in Guatemala and Honduras have reduced the yellow color of their heads and have a patch on the nape. Despite this, they have the other characteristics mentioned above.

Subspecies

Currently four subspecies are recognized: A. o. tresmariae described by Nelson in 1990, A. o. oratrix by Rudgway in 1887, A. o. belizensis by Monroe and TR Howell, 1966 and A. o. hondurensis by Lousada and SNG Howell in 1997. Some authors recognize the Gulf of Mexico population as a distinct subspecies of tresmariae and oratrix (A. o. magna).

Additionally, it has been proposed to describe a fifth subspecies for the extreme east of Guatemala, where there is a population with morphological variations of A. o. hondurensis. The proposed name for this subspecies is “A. o. guatemalensis ”.

State of conservation

Yellow-headed parrots have been in the IUCN “endangered” category since 1994. Furthermore, they are included in Appendix I of CITES.

Populations of A. oratrix have declined rapidly due to habitat loss and degradation and high levels of hunting and trafficking. For 1994, a total population of 7000 individuals was estimated, with only 4700 mature individuals. It is estimated that this species had a population decline of more than 90% between the 1970s and 1994.

Additionally, in some regions such as Punta Manabique (Guatemala) the populations have suffered a decrease of more than 30% between 1994 and 2001. It is estimated that for that year the parrot population was 70 individuals in this locality. In 2013, the population of Tamaulipas (Mexico) consisted of around 80 individuals.

The characteristics of this species make it highly desirable as a pet. Yellow-headed parrots have a distinctive voice and the ability to imitate human sounds and voices. In Mexico, hunting and the pet trade of these animals represents a loss of 38% of their distribution.

Reproduction

Yellow-headed Parrot Pair By photochem_PA from State College, PA, USA

Yellow-headed parrots are monogamous, that is, individuals have only one reproductive pair. In its natural habitat, reproduction is restricted to a time between February and June. During the reproductive season, parrots form their nests in natural cavities of mature trees.

The cavities used for nesting have dimensions that vary between 41 and 260 centimeters deep and an internal diameter between 14 to 52 centimeters. Parrots generally choose cavities in the canopy of tall trees, and about 12 tree-nest species have been recorded for this species.

The most frequent tree species in rearing activities are Astronium graveolens and Enterolobium cyclocarpum. Other species such as Bursera arborea, Brosimum allicastrum and Tabebuia spp. they also have relevance in nesting.

Females generally lay two or three eggs, only being incubated by them for approximately 29 days. The eggs can measure up to 3.8 centimeters in length. Only 0.8% of the chicks hatched during the nesting season survive to leave the nest.

The chicks remain in the nest for about two months, until they reach their maximum size and change the down for adult plumage.

Nutrition

The species Amazona oratrix feeds primarily on fruits and seeds of various wild or cultivated plant species. The species Ficus spp, Psidium guajava, Pithecellobium flexicaule, P. dulce, P. ebano, Acacia milleriana, Mucuna, Solanum and various palm trees are some of the most used in the feeding of these parrots.

On the other hand, between March and June, during the dry season, yellow-headed parrots have been recorded feeding mainly on immature seeds of Astronium graveolens, Crataeva tapia and Sideroxylon capiri.

Feeding activities are generally carried out during the early hours of the day and in the late afternoon. These parrots compete for food resources with various species of birds and with frugivorous mammals found in their range.

It is common to see these parrots competing with birds such as the spring blackbird (Turdus migratorius) and other species among which are Bombycilla cedrorum and Ptilogonys cinereus. It has also been seen competing with squirrels (Sciurus aureogaster) for some fruits.

References

1. BirdLife International 2018. Amazona oratrix. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22686337A131919621. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22686337A131919621.en. Downloaded on 27 November 2019.
2. del Hoyo, J., Collar, N. & Kirwan, GM (2019). Yellow-headed Amazon (Amazona oratrix). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, DA & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Retrieved from hbw.com
3. Eisermann, K. (2003). Status and conservation of Yellow-headed Parrot Amazona oratrix “guatemalensis” on the Atlantic coast of Guatemala. Bird Conservation International, 13 (4), 361-366.
4. Gómez de Silva, H., A. Oliveras de Ita and RA Medellín. 2005 2005. Amazona oratrix. Exotic higher vertebrates in Mexico: diversity, distribution and potential effects. Institute of Ecology, National Autonomous University of Mexico. SNIB-CONABIO databases. Project U020. Mexico. DF
5. Monterrubio-Rico, TC, Villaseñor-Gómez, LE, Marín-Togo, MC, López-Cordova, EA, Fabian-Turja, B., & Sorani-Dalbon, V. (2007). Historical and current distribution of the yellow-headed parrot (Amazona oratrix) on the central coast of the Mexican Pacific: advantages and limitations in the use of GARP in species under strong traffic pressure Neotropical Ornithology, 18, 263-276.
6. Monterrubio-Rico, TC, Álvarez-Jara, M., Téllez-García, L., & Tena-Morelos, C. (2014). Nesting habitat characterization for Amazona oratrix (Psittaciformes: Psittacidae) in the Central Pacific, Mexico. Journal of Tropical Biology, 62 (3), 1053-1072.
7. Noguera, FA (Ed.). (2002). Chamela natural history. UNAM.